


Blind Wing Beats

by Miracutrashcan



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (Not going to be heavy on the angst right now but that could be changed., Adrinette, Blind Marinette, Blind!Marinette AU, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Heavy adrienette, Lot of focus on the time in-between Akuma attacks.), Love spider web, Origins rewrite, Slow Burn, possibly rewritting other episodes depending on how it goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-11 00:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7014511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miracutrashcan/pseuds/Miracutrashcan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a girl blind from birth with nothing special about her except for a desire to get out. Adrien Agreste, a model with almost zero control of his life only able to see the outside world during photo shoots. Two different souls that will be brought together for one main reason, to protect Paris from the evil Hawk Moth. But there is more going on between these two than sitting at the same bench in class and having each other's backs on the roof of Paris. Adrien finally found someone that liked him not for his money, or his looks but for his personality while Marinette finally found someone who wouldn't treat her like a fragile doll. The only problem is, both of them are too dense to see the truth that is sitting right next to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Start of a new legacy

**Author's Note:**

> After the positive feedback from Tumblr, Fanfiction.net and here I've decided to continue and write a multi-chapter fic. Warning, this is going to be slow updates because I'm starting summer classes soon and I've got several other projects that I'm currently working on. Not to mention that I am also a Tumblr roleplayer so I will be balancing my time between this fic and my replies on Tumblr. I've got some information posts on my blog dedicated to this AU on Tumblr at Blindwingbeats. I am slowly getting back into the swing of writing fanfiction again so pardon if this seems rushed or jagged. Comments and feedback will be greatly appreciated!

“Marinette! Get up you are going to be late for your first day of school!” Sabrine called out to her fifteen-year-old daughter from the kitchen. She just finished making Marinette and Fleur’s lunch and packing both in Marinette’s bag. Just as she finished, she looked up and saw a massive pile of fur run down the stairs and jumped onto her legs. A chuckle escaped the baker’s lips as she pet the German Shepherd and got him down from off of her. She went back into the kitchen and got Fleur’s breakfast out while she waited for Marinette to get downstairs. She remembered a time where she was against Marinette getting a seeing eye dog for obvious reasons. It was hard to let her baby girl to explore by herself in the world with the fact that she was blind. 

But Sabrine knew that there was only so long she could keep Marinette sheltered inside the safety of the house. Especially with the frequent trips to the gym so Marinette could run. It was something that got her out of the house and let out some of that built up energy. But even then there was a limit on what indoor running Marinette could do. So after several long discussions with Tom, Sabrine finally came to the conclusion that Marinette was old enough to run outside with a seeing eye dog. That was three years ago and she felt like there was not a better decision for Marinette. She seemed so much happier now that she could go run outside without having to drag anyone else with her.

Speaking of Marinette, as soon as Sabrine stood up from taking care of Fleur she saw Marinette standing at the bottom of the stairs. She was rubbing her eyes clearly unhappy that she got woken up. Sabrine smiled and sighed as she watched Marinette grumble as she got sat down for breakfast. While Marinette was making herself breakfast. Sabrine started working on the tangled mess that was Marinette’s hair. They kept it at shoulder length so that way it could be easily brushed and if it was a special day could be styled. Like today, Sabrine put Marinette’s hair up into two low pigtails that were kept in place by two bright red rubber bands. Happy with her handy work she looked over Marinette’s shoulders and saw the mess.

“This is why I hate first days of school. Knowing my luck, I am probably going to end up in Chloe’s class again.” Marinette complained as she somehow managed to spill the milk, knock over everything on the table and knock over the coco powder in the five minutes Sabrine was distracted with Marinette’s hair. 

She rubbed Marinette’s cheek gently as she helped clean up the mess. She sighed as Marinette’s well known clumsiness appeared but even with that Sabrine still loved her daughter to death. Even if it did mean that Tom would have to man the bakery by himself for a bit while longer. “It is a new school year; I am sure you will make new friends. Besides sweetie I doubt you would end up in Chloe’s class again. But do you want me to walk you to school?” Sabrine offered as everything got picked up in the kitchen so the mess wouldn’t get bigger. But she still had some work to do when she got home.

“Based on how this morning went. I would be surprised if she wasn’t in my class mom. But we will be fine.” Marinette replied to her mom, knowing that any other tenth grade student might have been appalled at the offered to be walked to school. But for her, it was a normal question since the school was so close to her home her parents could walk her to school and not lose too much time. She didn’t want to be even more of a burden on her parents since her mom had to clean up the kitchen. She hated being a burden on people because of her disability, she knew that if she could see like everyone else then people wouldn’t have to constantly baby her.

“Okay then, Fleur is all ready to go and your hair is done. Have a good day at school.” Sabrine said as she left Marinette alone to finish her breakfast and put on Fleur’s harness. She sat on her knees near the door as she gave one final pet to Fleur before she would leave him alone to guide Marinette. Marinette stood up and put her bowl in the sink and grabbed her backpack. It was left exactly where it has been for as long as she could remember. It was by keeping items in the same place that allowed Marinette to maneuver around the house without any issues. 

Marinette left through the side door versus the bakery because it was just easier for everyone. It did mean that she didn’t get to say goodbye to her dad however. But she didn’t want to disturb any of the customers. Most of the regulars knew that she was blind and really didn’t bat an eye at her and Fleur leaving the bakery. But there were enough snide and rude remarks from new customers that didn’t know about her disability that kept Marinette from exiting out of the bakery in the morning. When she was out on the streets towards the direction of the school she thought it was going to be just a normal day. Or so she thought until her more sensitive hearing kicked in, she heard some different sounds. One was an object falling, followed by a groan of pain and the screaming sound of tires trying to break. She only had a split second to figure out what to do. She knew that she couldn’t go after the fallen person by herself. She bent down and let go of the harness. “Go help them boy.” She commanded her dog to help whoever fell on the street. 

She knew that by letting go of that harness that she let go of her only sense of location. Without Fleur, without her cane she was a sitting duck, completely helpless. But she knew that Fleur might be able to help whoever fell and that was worth leaving her comfort zone. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t anxious while separated from her dog, she was rarely without some sort of company. Either with her parents or with her dog while outside the house. So being completely alone made her feel completely naked. She didn’t dare move, because even though she knew this street well she didn’t know it perfectly and needed someone to be with her to make her feel safe.

This was not the first time Master Fu had to pick a chosen in his time as Guardian. However, this was the first time he’s gotten such a strong reading from Tikki’s box. Even though the kwami was still in a sleeping state, he knew that she could feel the people around her box and see if anyone resonated with her. He felt a warm pulse meaning that the one that Tikki was being drawn to must be in the area. He usually had to do the choosing by himself because the kwami do not always respond to a partner until after the choosing. But even so he felt like he should still test whoever Tikki was resonating with. In all of the tests he has performed, never has he been aided by a dog. An eyebrow was raised as he pretended to get up with the dog’s help and got safely out of the street. The car managing to stop just before things got dangerous. It wasn’t until he was walking with the dog did he realized that was no ordinary dog that assisted him, but rather a seeing eye dog. He followed the dog to the owner which was a young girl, that looked like she was in high school. As he approached the girl, Tikki’s box grew warmer and warmer signaling this was the one that Tikki was being pulled to. 

“Are you hurt? I hope Fleur did not scare you.” The girl spoke up, as soon as the dog, now named Fleur returned by her side. Master Fu watched her fumble around for the handle before finding it and standing up straight. He was shorter than her but he could see that she was blind, and he found it interesting that Tikki was drawn to a blind chosen. Wayzze has mentioned that not all chosen are in perfect health, and the Miraculous can compensate for that. 

“I am fine thanks to your dog; I am very grateful for his assistance. But isn’t he your seeing eye dog? May I pet him to show my thanks to him?” Master Fu asked politely, knowing that when dealing with working dogs that it was mandatory to get the owner’s permission. He watched the girl think for a moment before nodding her head in agreement. He bent down to pet the German Shepherds head for a few moments. “Thank you for your help Fleur.” 

Marinette nodded her head confirming Master Fu’s thoughts. This girl was truly blind and Tikki was resonating strongly with this girl. Through her actions, Master Fu was slowly agreeing with the sleeping Kwami. “Yes, I just couldn’t sit here and do nothing. If I went myself then I think I would have just made the entire situation worse. So sending him was the only thing that I could think of.” She explained to him and with those words confirmed his decision. This girl would receive Tikki’s box later when the time is right, he just hoped that the Kwami of creation could help this girl get through the troubling times ahead. But before Marinette could say anymore she bowed to him as he heard a bell ring. “I am sorry but we really must be going.” With that the girl and the dog took off towards the school. 

When the girl was out of earshot Master Fu put his cane on his shoulder and pulled out Tikki’s box and looked up at the bakery. He knew that he would be returning here soon to leave Tikki in this girl’s care. He smiled as he walked to find someone to take care of Plagg. “Interesting choice, but those who have struggled with disadvantages has the most room to grow. I can see why you wanted her.” He muttered to the box, knowing that Tikki would not be able to hear him as he hid the box under his clothes once again.


	2. Harsh Words and New Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't expecting so many comments for that first chapter! I don't think you guys get how happy that makes me. But here is chapter two! Heads up, I started my statistics class on Tuesday so that means I won't have as much time to write and I don't have much more of this story pre-written so updates will definitely be a bit longer. I'm going to aim for an update every five or so days, but on heavy homework weeks it could go up to a week between updates. Also a bit shorter of a chapter because I did not want to get into the Akuma part just yet and I couldn't find it in me to write anymore Chloe.

With some serious running and a few warning barks from Fleur the duo somehow managed to make it to school before the second bell rang. She took the same seat she’s been sitting in for the last four years. The front row closest by the door, since it was the easiest for her to get in and out of the classroom and only involved going up one step as well as giving room for Fleur to lie down during class. Marinette let out a relieved sigh as she set her bag on the table and was going to pull out her tablet to prepare for class. Except her train of thoughts were stopped when she heard two what she assumed were hands slam on the desk. She flinched backward away from the sound out of reflex instead of fear. She was trained to associate loud noises as danger after fifteen years of being blind. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng that is my seat. Adrien is going to be sitting right next to me.” A voice spoke out and Marinette cursed her bad luck, that was the one voice she was praying that she wouldn’t hear. The one girl who made it her mission to make her life miserable and was doing an excellent job of it. 

“But Chloe… this has been my seat for the last four years. Besides-” Marinette tried to defend herself against the inevitable rampage of the blond girl. She could hear Fleur’s harness start to move around as the dog shifted his weight from in front of the desk. She figured that Fleur was positioned right at the bottom so Chloe had to lean forward to get into the position she was in. Besides, she didn’t even have a single clue who this Adrien person was and how he was unique enough to get Chloe’s attention. But her explanation was just met with laughs from Sabrina and Chloe. Marinette was still clueless what she did to Chloe to be on the top of the mean girl’s target list.

“New school year, new seats. Besides you can go sit over there by the new girl.” A pause as Chloe burst into another round of snickers at her joke while she pointed to an empty seat on the other side of the classroom. “Oh wait you don’t even know where over there is! Hopefully, your fleabag of a dog is smart enough to get your pathetic self over there without running into too many things. But if it is as bright as it smells then you might not even make it over there! I don’t get why the principal even allowed that mangy mutt in here.”

“Fleur is not a mutt, he is a purebred German Shepard. He was trained by the French Federation of Guide Dog Associations for the Blind, and it is French law that seeing eye dogs are allowed in all public facilities.” She replied, trying to muster all of the courage she had to stand up to Chloe and Sabrina. However, her attempt at standing up for herself just ended up with more laughter coming from the duo. It was clear that they did not care a single bit at what Marinette was trying to say. Which just made her even more uncomfortable and already hating the way the school year was starting.

“Who died and made you the seat queen?” A new voice spoke up that took Marinette by surprise. She remembered the sound of most people who was in her grade but this voice was one that was completely unfamiliar. The only thing that she could tell was that the new voice belonged to a girl, but she couldn’t tell much more than that.

“Oh look it is the new girl! Hey, look, Sabrina, we have a little do-gooder here. What are you going to do?” Chloe shifted her attention from Marinette and onto the new girl. That action just made Marinette feel even worse about herself. First, she left her mom with a massive mess in the kitchen because she couldn’t see what she was doing. Now she somehow managed to get the new girl on Chloe’s radar. She just wished that she could shrink so small and go hide in a place that no one could find her. What she wasn’t expecting was a pair of hand to gently grab hers and guide her up. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The new voice spoke again as Marinette nervously stood up and allowed herself to be guided by this stranger. Normally she would have asked Fleur to do it, but this girl seemed nice enough. Not only that she was standing up to Chloe, which was something that most people wouldn’t do out of fear. Not that she blamed them, which is why she took most of Chloe’s temper tantrums since she didn’t have much that Chloe could blackmail her with. She felt the stranger guiding her to a new seat, and she sat down. With her sensitive hearing, she could hear Fleur let out a quiet growl at the mean duo and placed himself in front of the new seat. “Here let’s sit here, it is free and still on the first row.”

Now in her new seat, Marinette started to pull out her tablet to record the lecture and take notes for the class. A sigh escaped her lips as she wished that she had the stranger’s confidence in standing up to Chloe. But when all she knew was being treated like a fragile doll for most of her life it was hard. It was only recently that she was allowed to walk to school by herself with Fleur and go on runs with him as well. “I’m sorry that you had to get involved.” She muttered softly, as she looked down at where she knew her hands were. 

“Chill-lax girl it’s no biggie. That was just low, anyone with half a brain could tell that you were sitting there for a reason.” The stranger pointed out to her, and Marinette couldn’t just help but nod sadly. She was far too used to just taking Chloe’s bullying with a fake smile on her face. Her position as the mayor’s daughter made her a tough girl to go up against, especially when Marinette had almost zero confidence in herself outside of a kitchen.

“I just wish I could stand up to Chloe like you did. It’s just my luck that I’m stuck in her class for the fifth year in a row.” She explained pointing in the direction that they came from. “She’s the mayor’s daughter and she always makes sure that everyone knows it. So most people don’t go against her because of that.”

“You mean that is how Majestia does it. She says that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.” Marinette raised an eyebrow at the given quote but decided not to question it too much. She started to fiddle with her tablet just in case Ms. Bustier decided to start teaching today. Today has already been a horrible day, and she didn’t want to make it worse by falling behind in class. “I’m Alya by the way.” 

“I’m Marinette.” She introduced herself to Alya but, did not have the opportunity to add more to that comment as class started. Instead of focusing on the lesson, Marinette’s thoughts couldn’t help but wonder. She wondered if that her mom was right, that this year was going to be fantastic… maybe even miraculous. Going by how quickly things changed so quickly thanks to Alya’s intervention, Marinette had a glimmer of hope that things were going to go better. Especially since she thought that she finally made an actual friend and not someone who just knew that she needed help to move around. If there was one thing that she was certain about, this year was going to be anything but boring.


	3. It's destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette finally thought she was going to have a good first day of school, yet fate decided to say otherwise in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait! Like I mentioned in my previous chapter, I started summer classes last week and I had a statistics test today that I spent the last week studying for. Along with a bunch of family issues and problems that I am not going to bore you guys with. So as an apology for taking so long to get this chapter out it is longer than usual! Enjoy! I finished writing this late at night so I apologize for any rough sections. I just really wanted to get this out tonight.

Class went by relatively fast as it was the first day, so Marinette barely registered that it was time to leave until she heard heavy footsteps coming from the ride side and then a hug around her shoulders. Once class started things got quiet and thankfully there weren’t any issues except for the end between Ivan and Kim. Marinette didn’t know what Kim did to Ivan to get him sent to the principal’s office, but she didn’t have time to think about that. She squeaked in surprise as she turned her head out of reflex, not like it helped her in any way. She put her left hand on the unknown person’s arm and then another hand touched her free shoulder. It took Marinette a few moments to think about who these two sets of hands could belong to and then realized it must be Juleka and Rose. A soft smile was on her face as she relaxed and shut her eyes. “Did Chloe leave?”

“Yes, she did. I’m so sorry Marinette I-” Rose started to explain as she felt the hug tighten. But she got cut off when she heard Alya clear her throat loudly. Marinette could understand why Alya might seem confused at the sudden change of attitude in some of the other students. It was strange to people who didn’t know the full story, she knew that for sure. Marinette gently patted Rose’s arm to let her know that she wanted to get up.

“Why are you acting all buddy buddy now not while she was getting ripped apart by Chloe?” Alya spoke up, and Marinette could imagine that she was looking at Rose and Julkea with an unpleasant look. The exact details she couldn’t place, but what she could imagine that it was something that she was glad that she couldn’t see. When Rose let go of her, Marinette put her hand on where she thought was Alya’s shoulder. She was grateful that Alya was still sticking up for her, but things were okay now. 

“Here we need to get to study hall. I’ll explain on the way. Thank you, Rose, Julkea, but you two need to get going. I’ll fill Alya in on how things work around here.” She spoke up as she slid out of the desk and walked down the one step to the floor and felt Fleur brush across her leg. She reached out and grabbed his harness as she heard the duo agree and then leave the room. Then she was left with just a very confused Alya as she made her way to the door. She hated that this was how the class worked, but it was just simply how things were ran around here. 

“So spill girl, what was that all about?” Alya asked once she had all of her stuff in her bag and ran to catch up with Marinette. She knew that she was new to the school but to see that kind of attitude change once Chloe left the room was strange.  
Marinette just lets out a hollow laugh as she knew exactly what Alya was referring to. She’s been doing this for four years, so she was more than familiar with Chloe’s rampages and rants. Things always worked the same way, something would set Chloe off and put in her a bad mood. Then when she entered the room, Chloe would just walk over and start poking fun at anything she could find which ranged from her disability to Fleur. No one in the class spoke up to defend her until Chloe was out of the room, which is when they would collapse on her and help her deal with whatever Chloe said. It was a crude system, but it was the best one that anyone could think of. “Like I said when Rose and Juleka were with us. It is just how it works around here, and that is how it worked for the last four years.” Marinette explained to the other with a sigh escaping her lips towards the end. She despised this system. However there was nothing that she could do about it. The school was mostly quiet outside of a few people chatting among themselves as they moved from class to class. So Marinette was able to hear when Alya stopped walking beside her. 

They were at the bottom of the stairs to go up to the library when she paused and turned her head. A look of confusion popped onto the sightless girl’s face as she was not quite sure what she said that caused Alya to stop. “So you have been putting up with that torment by yourself for four years, and no one has done anything about it?” 

“It is complicated Alya. Chloe is the mayor’s daughter; she has the ability to get basically whatever she wants. The teachers can’t do anything or else they risk their jobs, and Chloe has blackmail material on basically everyone here. I don’t know why she enjoys picking on me out of everyone else in the school, but I just take it. My parents’ bakery is far too successful and famous for the mayor to do anything about it and I really don’t have anything she could use against me. So that’s why I take it in class and then talk about it the minute Chloe leaves.” Marinette frowned and shook her head at the mere thought. She knew the phrase ‘do not fix what is not broken’ very well and felt like it applied here extensively. The system in place was crude at best. However it got done what needed to get done. Let Chloe blow off some steam or just to make herself feel better, and no one else got hurt.

“It’s not fair that she gets to push everyone around and say whatever she wants to say without anyone doing anything about it!” Marinette could not agree more with Alya here, but there was simply nothing anyone could do about the situation. Ideally, Chloe would be sent away to some fancy private school, but the chances of that happening were slim to none. So the only other option was to suck it up and deal with her.

“I know it’s not fair Alya, but as it stands… no one has the ability to do anything about it. I don’t even know if the mayor knows just how much of a pain that Chloe is. Let’s get going, even if it is the first day of school we still need to show up to study hall.” A soft smile appeared on her face as she turned and walked up the stairs to the library. Marinette thanked her lucky stars that she met Alya today, she did not know what she would be doing right now if she did not have her. Probably just sitting in the corner of the library keeping to herself like she always did. 

There was something about Alya that made Marinette feel like a typical teenager. It could be because Alya did not seem to treat her any differently even with Fleur always with her and the fact that her eyes held no color. She only knew that because her parents told her one day when she was feeling down after one of Chloe’s meaner attacks. When she was at the top of the stairs, she opened the door to the library and held it open for Alya, who was right behind her. When she assumed that Alya was past the door, she let go and lead the other to her usual table. The one in the far back corner where she sat down and pulled out one of her books. “Since it’s the first-day study hall is basically a free period.” She was reading the second book in a series following a teenage girl who enters the mysterious world of vampires with a few hidden powers that she wasn’t even aware of. 

“I’ve never seen a book printed in braille before. Can I see?” Marinette stopped gliding her fingers over the page at the request. From where Alya’s voice came from, Marinette could guess that she was sitting across from her at the table. The location of Alya was not what took Marinette by surprise. Rather it was the fact that Alya was interested in her book. She knew that braille was more expensive, and that was why she only got new books from time to time unless they were provided by the school. Taking the page that she was reading and making a note by folding the corner over she slid the book over. 

“You are the first person here that took an interest in my books.” 

“Well I’ve never seen one in person, I’ve only seen pictures on the internet. So how do you read it? Do you just run your fingers over it?” Marinette just nodded her head in confirmation at Alya’s questioning. She could hear the genuine curiosity and enthusiasm as the sound of pages turning filled Marinette’s ears. From what Marinette could hear, all she could imagine was Alya being a kid in a candy store. Not that Marinette knew what that meant from first-hand experiences, but rather she found out after Rose having to explain the meaning to her after class one day. Marinette gently shook her head; she was not going to let those thoughts get her mood down. 

Fate, however, had a different plan in mind. There was a tremble that traveled through the school that sent Marinette to the ground. She was stunned for a moment as she tried to figure out what just happened. She felt a rough, warm tongue licked her face as Fleur was checking up on her. A smile crept onto her face as she reassured her seeing eye dog that she was okay. Though she was not sure what happened to Alya, the tremble was loud and with a bunch of people screaming in the library she was having a hard time figuring out where Alya was based on sound. Marinette picked herself up and glanced around, trying to pinpoint where Alya was. She heard the sound of her backpack opening and then shutting, and she assumed that was Alya putting the book back in her backpack before grabbing her hand and dragging her to where the monitors were. 

“What’s going on Alya?” Marinette couldn’t help but continue to worry, she desperately wanted to know what was going on that caused the tremble. The only issue was that she couldn’t see what was going on, and she desperately relied on other people to explain to her what was going on. She bit her lip and squeezed Alya’s hand tightly as she waited for someone to give her an update. All she could hear was something deep, yet familiar repeating the name Kim. 

“There is a massive stone monster outside of the school!” Alya explained with a tad bit too much enthusiasm for Marinette’s liking. Marinette was not even aware that she was still holding onto Alya’s hand until she felt a reassuring squeeze back. “It is as if he got transformed into a real life super villain. He just destroyed the outer cameras with a car he picked up.” Marinette could not help but wince at the thought of a stone monster… no Ivan picking a car up and throwing it at the school. She knew that she did not talk to Ivan as much as she did to Rose, Juleka or even Nino but when she did talk to him, she did not get anything but kindness coming from him. To see such a gentle person, do such violent things… it scared Marinette as she finally let go of Alya’s hand.  
Because of the sudden appearance of this supervillain, the school thought it would be best to shut down until the threat was over to protect the students. Most of the students in the library held mix emotions. Excitement because the school was canceled for the rest of the day as well as fear because of the rampaging rock monster outside. The first thing that Marinette thought of was if her parents were safe, she knew how close the bakery was to the school. Her thoughts of her parents were forgotten when she heard Alya get excited over the appearance of the supervillain.

“Alya, please tell me you are going home,” Marinette begged her friend, or what she hoped to be her friend it was still too soon to tell how this relationship will go from here. She was getting herself ready to go home by slipping her backpack on and grabbing Fleur’s harness. She knew how to get from here and back home without being guided by Fleur, but his presence gave her some reassurance that she wasn’t alone. 

Due to how close she was to Alya, Marinette could pick up what the other girl was muttering under her breath. Everything that she was saying was not suggesting that she had any plans of going home and waiting for the authorities to take care of this. The blind girl still prayed that Alya had the common sense to leave this to the professionals. “If there are supervillains, then there must be superheroes, and I want to get the first footage of them! Are you coming?” 

Marinette didn’t know exactly how to respond to Alya’s offer. She couldn’t tell if she was being asked because Alya forgot that she was blind, or if she was intent on not treating her any different because she was blind. Either way, Marinette wanted to go out with Alya, but she remembered what happened this morning. That older man fell on the street, and the most that she could do was send her dog to help him. She was helpless without someone or something with her to guide her to safety. So all she felt like she could do was shake her head no at Alya. For one she was terrified at the thought of running head first into danger, and the second part is that she would not allow herself to be a liability to people. “I… I can’t. I would just be putting everyone there at a greater risk.”

She desperately wanted to go out, so that way Alya would have someone with her to watch her back. Except she could not even keep an eye on her own back because of her disability. She didn’t hear a response from Alya as she listened to the sounds of Alya’s footsteps getting farther and farther away. Leaving her alone in the library, everyone else left while she was trying to talk to Alya to go home where it was safer. Her ears twitched when she heard the soft whimper of Fleur and Marinette bent down to the dog. She scratched his ears as she tried to remember when he liked anyone as quickly as he did Alya besides her and her family. “Alya’s smart… I’m sure she will be safe. Come on let’s get home before mama and papa get worried.”

She tried to comfort her dog, and herself at the same time. She prayed to whatever god that would listen that Alya would be safe during this troubling time. Marinette stood back up as she grabbed Fleur’s harness and the duo left the library. The minute that they were outside the school, they broke into a run so they would get home the quickest. The only good thing about this attack was that no one was driving which meant that there was no risk to Marinette, and they got home safely. She went straight to her room and turned on the news on her computer. She listened to the report saying that the authorities had no clue on how to stop this rampaging monster, and all Marinette could think of was Alya, who was somewhere in the middle of that mess.

She was about to go and do something when she nudged something on her desk, causing her to raise an eyebrow. She did not remember leaving anything on her desk last night. Picking up the strange object, Marinette moved it around in her hands to get a decent idea of what she had. To her, it seemed to be some sort of box with some engravings on the top, but the marks were not deep enough for her to get a good mental picture. She debated on walking downstairs to see if this was just a gift from her parents, though curiosity got the better of her as she opened the box. 

A few moments after opening the box she heard a soft sound coming from where she was holding the box. At the exact same moment, a defensive growl came from Fleur leaving Marinette confused right in the middle. Thinking more about the first sound that she heard, it reminded her of a yawn which just further confused the girl. It was not until a high pitched and energetic voice came from the box did things start to get interesting and even more confusing. “Hello, Marinette! My name is Tikki, and I am a kwami!”  
Marinette just sat in her chair for a few moments trying to process what was happening right now in her room. She motioned to Fleur to relax, not because she felt safe… rather she did not want to draw the attention of her parents who might have closed the bakery and moved into the house. She remained in her computer chair seat as she tried to make sense of everything. This day was a rollercoaster of emotions, and she really did not need some talking… thing making this day even more complicated than it already was. 

Eventually, Marinette stood up and slowly backed away from where the creature was floating? Standing? Flying? Marinette could not tell nor was she in the mood to try and figure it out. She made it to her trap door and started to open it, she needed to know if she was going crazy or if this was one elaborate joke. “Mom?”

The minute she spoke those words she felt two little warm paws on her face as the voice… no, as Tikki talked to her. “No Marinette! No one must find out about me! I am your friend Marinette, please trust me! You are the only one who can stop Stoneheart!”  
Marinette was not sure if she should break out into laughter or roll her eyes at the idea. It was clear that Tikki had the wrong girl if the kwami thought she could do anything useful let alone stop a rampaging stone monster. Something deep inside of her wanted to believe that Tikki was right, that she could do something to help. Yet there was one major problem in what Tikki was saying. Marinette sighed as she went back to her desk where she left the box and sat back down on her chair. “Tikki you do realize that I am blind right?”

“I am aware of this, but I was drawn to you specifically even before I awoke. It is rare that I am pulled to a human, as I usually just rely on the Guardian to do the picking so that means you are special and destined to do great things. But first, you need to put these earrings in.” Tikki explained to Marinette as she debated on listening to this thing that appeared out of nowhere. A sigh escaped Marinette’s lips as she fumbled with her current earrings and pulled them out. Getting her ears pierced was her mom’s idea, at the time it seemed pointless for her to get them pierced but now it appeared to be a really lucky break for her. “You are not my first disabled bug. In fact, some of my best bugs were the disabled ones.”

“Why are you calling me a bug?” Marinette could not help but ask after she got the earrings out and was struggling to put the new ones in. She felt soft paws on her hands guiding her hands to put the new earrings in. While this was happening Tikki explained some details about her powers and emphasis on her two big abilities the Lucky Charm and Miraculous Ladybug. She did not understand why Tikki was so insistent that she was capable of doing this. “I am blind if anything I would just be a dead weight to you Tikki. I know how about my friend Alya? She is really into superheroes!” 

“Marinette! You are the chosen one! The earrings you just put in are called the Ladybug Miraculous, and they will compensate for your lack of sight.” Tikki tried to reassure Marinette once both earrings were in, the kwami knew that Marinette might change her mind after the first transformation. “All you have to do is break the object that the Akuma is hiding in and capture it. But do not worry you will not be doing this alone. You will have a partner.”

“I’m still not too sure of this Tikki, this is all happening way too fast.” Uncertainty was all that Marinette could think of. From what Tikki was saying, this was what Marinette has been dreaming of her entire life. A way for her to do things, to help people without being a burden on others. Yet there was that fear about dragging this partner that Tikki mentioned down because of her disability. “But all I have to do is break that object and capture the what did you call it?”

“The Akuma Marinette. Then you must capture and purify it. Things will make sense when you get there. All you have to do is believe in yourself and have faith.” Tikki knew that this was going to be a hard bug to train, but she has never been drawn to a single person as she was to Marinette. 

“Break, capture, purify. I think I got it… and what is that charm thingie again?” Marinette started out with a bit of confidence, as she had that part memorized as it was simple. Her supposed new powers were a much different story, a sigh just escaped Marinette’s lips as she continued to think about this. There was just too much information, and she didn’t even believe she had it in her to do any of what Tikki was telling her she needed to do.

“The Lucky Charm it is your superpower, but you have to remember that after you use it that you have five minutes before you change back. But just say Spots On and things will become a bit clearer.”

“Um okay… Spots on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are finally getting into the parts where the AU really starts to deviate from canon which will make writing this chapters both easier on me and more exciting. So any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated!


	4. Round One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Legacies start somewhere and for a certain blind girl... her's starts here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is where we start to deviate from canon. Not so much here since I still need to stay somewhat close to how the original Origins plays out. Big changes are going to start appearing within the next few chapters. Which also means Chloe returns and I'm not looking forward to writing that. Oh well I hope you enjoy and sorry for the delay!

“Um okay… Spots on?” Marinette spoke with uncertainty, as a spike of energy flew through her entire body. She could not hold back a yelp of surprise as she felt a strange material cover her entire body as well as part of her face. The energy turned into a warm feeling as an odd weight was added to her back, as soon as the feelings started it ended. She flexed her fingers, and she could tell that her entire body up to her neck was covered in the foreign material. She ran her fingers over her face and felt the same strange material covered her face like a mask. She spent several moments running her hands over her body to get a feel for what she was now dressed in.

The material clung to her body, and there was a small sphere attached to her hip, something deep within her revealed that the object was a yo-yo. Marinette could not understand why she was given a yo-yo with this transformation. Then her mind drifted to the weight on her back. The moment she did, she could feel the weight shift as something came unfolded from her back and then there was a quiet beating noise. Marinette was confused for a split second before for the first time in her life she was actively aware of her surroundings. Her eyes went wide as she realized that what was on her back were wings. Those wings were allowing her to see in a way, the best way she could think of to describe what was going on was echolocation. She still could not see details, but she could see the outlines and shapes of various things in her room.

This was an amazing gift that Tikki just gave her, Marinette was blind from birth so she’s never seen a single color, a single shape and now that she could at least see shapes. It was… overwhelming to say the least. “Tikki? Tikki? How can I thank you?” She whispered walking around the room, getting used to the weight of the wings on her back and for once she was maneuvering with no fear of running into anything. Marinette was on cloud nine right now, and a part of her wondered if this was an elaborate dream she was having, and she would wake up soon. Then she remembered what Tikki said before the transformation. She was the only one able to defeat Stoneheart. A part of her wanted to be selfish and just take this opportunity to explore her surroundings for the first time. 

She stopped in front of her computer that still had the news footage of Ivan playing. She really didn’t pay much attention to what the reporter was saying until now. She was given a location of where the monster was heading, and she knew that was close to the school. Which means that Alya might be near there and in grave danger. “Alya.” She muttered to herself, as she clenched her hands tightly. Once again she found herself in a situation where she wished desperately to know what was on that screen. If Alya was close to Stoneheart or if she gave up and just went home. Based on how the girl acted in class today, Marinette seriously doubted that Alya went back. “Tikki this is great, but I can’t go out like this. Where are you?” She called out for the kwami, once more. She greatly appreciated the wings and the gift, yet she didn’t have the confidence to leave her room like this.

Then she heard her mom call for her and then remembered the very first thing Tikki told her. No one must know that the little kwami exists and no one must know that she has the Miraculous. So she glanced around trying to figure out what to do, and she made a mad dash for the trap door leading to her balcony, but not before she stopped in front of Fleur, who seemed to want to go with her. “Hide boy. I’ll be back I promise.” She reassured the dog, bending down and scratching behind his ears a smile appeared on her face. She climbed up the stairs and got out of the room before her mom entered her room. Now that she was alone on the balcony she knew that she had to go and find Stoneheart, which shouldn’t be too hard given that according to Alya’s description. He was a massive stone being with Ivan’s voice. Not something that was exactly easy to miss. 

“Break, capture, purify. Come on Marinette you can do this. I have superpowers and a super magic yo-yo… I can do this.” She muttered to herself as she unclipped the yo-yo from her hip and threw it up and down a few times. The weight in her hand felt foreign and familiar at the same time, just like the wings on her back. She could not help but wonder just exactly how many chosen Tikki has already had. She got ready to throw the yo-yo out to test the range and the capabilities of it when she hesitated. She was so caught up in the transformation, the excitement to be able to see some things that she completely forgot what held her back earlier. 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is blind. 

“What did Alya say? Evil wins if good people do nothing?” She muttered to herself as her wings continued to beat, giving her a constant update of her surroundings. She had two options, take these earrings off, pretend that none of this happened and let whatever turned Ivan into that monster win. Or she could put her big girl pants on and dive head first. Tikki told her that the Miraculous would compensate for her lack of sight, and it already has. She was more aware of what was going on around her now than she has been for the last fifteen years. “Well here goes nothing!” She cried out as she tugged the yo-yo string and got pulled off of her balcony screaming as the wind flew through her hair. “Waaaaaah!!!!!!”

She was scared out of her mind, she doubted her capabilities to pull this off, she was worried that she would just slow her partner down because of her disability. Yet, here she was flailing around in the air like an idiot because there was something about Alya’s words that resonated with Marinette. The masked girl wanted to be more confident, to be able to do things without having to rely on other people to watch over her or babysit her. This was her chance to start growing into that person, it might be in spandex, but it was a chance she had to take. “Heeellpppp!”

There was one important factor that Marinette forgot when she tugged on that string that sent her flailing and screaming into the air. What goes up must come down, and she saw that a boy was walking on a stick that she was on a direct collision course with. She shut her eyes as her body slammed into his and the string that caused her to end up in this situation wrapped around both of them. It wasn’t tight enough to cause any blood circulation to get caught off, but they were still quite close to each other much closer than Marinette ever got to a boy. The boy who she was bound to chuckled and spoke up. “Well Hi, there, nice of you to drop in.”

Marinette put a weak smile on her face, within the first ten minutes of being outside completely on her own and she already found herself tied up to someone. At least they didn’t hit the ground as the yo-yo caught the baton that the boy was walking on, leaving them dangling a foot off the ground. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that… first day.” She muttered looking to the side as she tried to figure out how to get them out of this situation. Her wings folded up before the collision with the boy which was a painful reminder of what she was trying to do here. She was a blind girl trying to play hero, Marinette shook her head. She needed to focus and get her priorities right, which was to get them out of their current situation. 

The simplest way she could see this happening was to just slip the ring around her finger off and just unwrap them. It took a minute but eventually the duo were able to get onto solid ground and separate. Now that she was on flat ground, Marinette’s wings opened again and started to quietly beat. At first, the noise was annoying, but the sound was quickly growing on the girl dressed in black spots. “So you are the partner my kwami told me about?” The boy asked, and Marinette actually had time to analyze what he looked like. She couldn’t tell how much taller he was, but her guess was at least a head, maybe one and a half. His hair appeared to be messy, and he had cat ears on top of his head and what she assumed was a tail behind him. “I’m…” The boy paused as Marinette watched him, tugging on her yo-yo string to get it down from the bar the boy was walking on. “I’m Chat Noir… yeah, Chat Noir! And you?”

Marinette never actually thought this far ahead, she didn’t have a single clue on what to call herself as she gave one last tug on the string. “I’m Ma..ma..ma.” She started off realizing that she almost gave her real name until the baton and the yo-yo came free. She lifted her free hand up, expecting to catch both objects and give the baton to Chat Noir. To her luck, what ended up happening was the two items that were still partially connected hit Chat Noir on the head, and that was what knocked the yo-yo finally free of the baton. With the object back in her hands, Marinette covered her face, and an apologetic look came onto her face. “I’m massively clumsy… I’m so sorry.”

“No sweat clumsy girl, I’m learning the ropes too. But if you don’t mind me asking, are your eyes naturally like that or is because of the costume?” Chat Noir asked her, and Marinette was not sure on how to respond. She didn’t like lying to people, but here she was a complete stranger to everyone. A chance to start fresh, for people to treat her like an average person all for one lie. She was unsure if this was the right thing to do, to lie about her eye color to the person that is apparently her partner. 

“It’s an effect of the suit,” Marinette explained, putting a confident smile on her face, she knew that was a complete lie. The wings on her back were what gave her the vision she needed to hopefully do what had to be done. She might tell Chat Noir the truth later, but she did not want to be treated like a small child by him. This was a clean slate for her, one that she was going to take and run with. She was about to follow up when the ground shook, and her mind shifted to the main problem, Ivan. Her echolocation still had a limit of how far it could reach, her ears had no such limit, and she heard the sound of what she guessed was a building collapsing. 

She glanced over to Chat Noir and saw him backing up and extending his baton and took a running start and propelled himself onto the roof. She knew where he was going, and she repeated what Tikki told her back in her room. “Break, capture, purify. If he is running towards danger without blinking an eye, I can too.” She told herself as she leaned back and spun her yo-yo around and threw it at the building Chat Noir landed on. She was aware of her wings on her back, but she didn’t know how to use them to actually fly, and she felt like this was anything but the proper time to try and learn how to fly. Ivan was on a rampage, Alya was in danger, and Chat Noir just ran off to go deal with the problem. “Trust yourself, trust yourself.”

When she tugged on the string, this time, she did not scream when she got thrown into the air. She was anything but graceful with her landing but at least this time she didn’t crash into anyone. A smile could not help but creep onto Marinette’s face, among all of this insanity she was enjoying this immensely. This was the first time that she got to do this kind of thing, and she found it liberating if she was completely honest. She followed right behind Chat Noir, seeing as he could visually see where he was going that would be the best idea.

Chat Noir jumped straight into the stadium right after Kim with Marinette landing on the edge just a minute after them. She took a deep breath as she watched Stoneheart get bigger when Chat Noir smacked him with the elongated baton. This was the part that Marinette was scared of the most, the fighting. She never fought anyone before, not even in a pillow fight. She could not even begin to think how she would handle herself in an actual fight. “Where are you, partner?” She heard Chat Noir call out for her as Alya’s words came to mind once more. Chat Noir was struggling with Stoneheart, no with Ivan and here she was just standing there watching him nearly get crushed. 

“I won’t be able to do this, I’ll just get in my way. Why did Tikki think picking a blind girl to be her chosen was a good idea!” She cried out covering her face thinking about turning around and just going back home. To tell Tikki that she tried to be the hero that Tikki was telling her that she could be. Before Marinette could leave the battleground she saw that Stoneheart picked up the goal and threw it towards Chat Noir, and things started to slow down from there. The distance was somewhat far away so Marinette couldn’t see the exact details of the person that the goal was flying towards but if she had to guess it was Alya. Her heart cried out in pain as she knew that there was no way that she would be able to get over there to protect Alya in time. Fortunately for her, Chat Noir was much closer and he threw his baton which extended and protected her classmate. 

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief when Alya was safe, however in doing so Chat Noir opened himself up for attack and Stoneheart grabbed him. Marinette was still stuck on the edge, paralyzed in fear about going down there. Self-doubt was filling her mind until Alya’s voice broke her out of the torment of her emotions. “What are you doing super red bug? The world is watching!” She cried out, confirming that the person who nearly got crushed by the goal was Alya, and that was enough to snap Marinette out of the emotions that were threatening to drag her under. She surveyed the area one last time, doubt and uncertainty were painted across her face. Chat Noir was in Stoneheart’s grasp, Alya almost got killed, and here she was standing by and doing nothing.  
It was that last fact that pushed her over the edge as she gripped her yo-yo tighter and jumped into the stadium, thrusting the yo-yo towards Stoneheart and the string wrapped around his legs several times as she slid underneath his legs and a cocky smile appeared on her face. She was not exactly sure how she was doing this, but she was not in the mood to question it. “You know one thing I can’t stand? Cruelty to animals!” Marinette cried out as she pulled the string which caused Stoneheart to fall onto his back and more importantly got Chat Noir free. She pulled her yo-yo back and ran after Chat Noir, to her partner. “Sorry, I took so long Chat Noir.”

“It’s not a problem wonder bug! Come on let’s kick his rocky behind!” Marinette rolled her eyes at his joke and grabbed his tail before he could run off. She was totally with the idea that they needed to take Stoneheart down, the only problem was Chat Noir’s idea was not the way that they needed to do it. She yanked him gently back towards him and when she did she saw that he grabbed his tail and started to pet it gently. She raised an eyebrow at that not exactly sure what that was about. 

“Didn’t you notice anything Chat Noir? When we hit him he just gets bigger, we have to think of something else.” She explained as she crossed her arms, her wings beating a bit faster than before she entered the arena. She put a hand to her chin trying to come up with a way that they could get to whatever the Akuma was hiding in without making the situation any worse. “But how?”

“Well then let’s use our powers!” Chat Noir suggested as he took the stance to call upon his power. “Cataclysm! Apparently I can destroy whatever I touch.” He explained as Marinette was not paying the most attention as she was trying to still formulate a plan of attack. When she focused on her partner again, she saw that he was about to touch the net, and she tried to stop him, but her words didn’t get out fast enough. The bad luck energy was released into the goal net, and the item disintegrated. 

“Did your kwami not tell you anything? We have one shot with our powers then we have five minutes before we turn back to normal!” She asked him putting her hands on her hips rolling her eyes at him. Well at least for future reference she knew what Chat Noir’s powers were. All that she got was a shrug in response and she shook her head today was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. She knew that she still had her Lucky Charm that she could pull out. Was the timing right? She was not sure; the power was the only option the duo had left. “Well, I guess it’s my turn! Lucky Charm!” With that, Marinette threw the yo-yo into the air and when it came back down so was an object. She could feel the rubber material under her fingers, and the size seemed around her height. “My kwami told me we have to break the object that the Akuma is hiding in so I can capture it.”

“Some superpower, you got a wetsuit.” Chat Noir pointed out, as Marinette glanced around, at least she knew what she got. Which is a step further than where she was a few seconds ago. She was wracking her brain for ideas on how to use this. “Well, I think the Akuma is in his first. He hasn’t opened it the entire time.”

“Just like a Russian doll. Chat Noir that’s it!” Marinette cried out as the Lucky Charm just made sense in her mind. She grabbed the hose that was near her feet and she tied the ends of the wetsuit together and put the hose inside. This plan she had either was either going to get them both killed, or it was going to work, and everything will end well. With the wetsuit all tied up, she threw her yo-yo around Chat Noir’s legs, and she threw him in a circle. “Just trust me!” She told him before launching him towards Stoneheart. She heard him screaming as Stoneheart caught him and she followed up right behind him the wetsuit in hand. “Catch me if you can!” She taunted the villain as she felt his rocky hands wrap around her small frame.

“Some plan of yours. I hope this isn’t it.”

“It’s not, Alya! The tap!” Marinette cried out as she heard the water start to run and fill the wetsuit which expanded to the point that Stoneheart couldn’t hold on anymore. The moment she was free, she moved towards the object that Stoneheart dropped and stepped on it. The Akuma was freed, and she smiled watching it fly away. The item changed back to normal, and she looked up from where she stepped on the item to where footsteps were coming towards her.  
“You were incredible miss um bug lady! You did it!” Those words warmed Marinette’s heart as she put her hands in front of her chest to calm Chat Noir down. She could not, no she would not claim this victory as her own. Alya gave her the confidence she needs to take action, he gave her the support she needed in the fight and Tikki gave her the ability to take action.

“No, we did it, partner. Pound it!” She replied an honest smile on her face as she pulled her hand back for a fist bump. There was no need for this, yet Marinette felt like there was something lacking and this felt appropriate. Afterward, she heard the beeping that she was ignoring during the entire fight. It sounded like it was coming from his Miraculous. “You should get going. Our identities must remain secret.” She urged him to go, a bit of sadness was in her voice. She wanted to know the person who helped her through this, but Tikki insisted that no one must know, and she was following the kwami’s words to a T. 

“Until next time my lady. Let’s do this again soon I hope.” With a short bow later, Chat Noir turned tail and left the arena. The blind girl smiled, she finally had someone that treated her like a normal person. Even if it was only because she lied to him about her sight. Once Chat Noir was out of the stadium her earrings beeped for the second time, she had two minutes before she had to make it home since she could not get caught on the streets by herself without her walking stick of Fleur.  
“Not too soon I hope.” She bent down and unfolded the piece of paper that once held the Akuma. She folded it in half when she bent down next to Ivan and handed it to him. “I didn’t look.” She explained honestly, not like it would have mattered if she looked anyways. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, showing him that she was here for him if he decided to explain to her what was going on. She had her theories that involved Kim and whatever happened during class that got Ivan sent to the principal’s office in the first place. 

“There is a guy in my class named Kim, he is always making fun of me about my feelings for someone in my class,” Ivan explained and things started to click for Marinette, and it made her heart ache. Marinette remembered that she was in costume and that she shouldn’t show that she knew a lot about the situation that Ivan was in outside of what he just told her.

“You know it’s not bad, you should tell the special someone how you really feel about them.” She had offered some advice before Alya came barging over and unleashing a bunch of questions. Questions that she didn’t have time to answer as her earrings beeped again, reminding Marinette of her time limit. “I have faith in you, Ivan you can do it.” Marinette patted him and stood up, realizing that she just used his name and she quickly walked away from the duo before she slipped up anymore. She pulled her yo-yo out and was about to take off when Alya asked what her name was. Marinette took a moment and thought about it, her Miraculous is the Ladybug Miraculous and Tikki called her a bug. “Ladybug, call me Ladybug.” She chuckled and waved goodbye to the duo and left with much more confidence and grace than when she entered the stadium. 

Getting home was much easier and smoother and she landed on top of her bed with one spot left. “Spots off!” She cried out letting Tikki drop the transformation early, a part of her was sad that she was plunged back into darkness once again… However, that part was forgotten over the excitement and joy as she held the little kwami in her hands. “I did it!” She cried out once she was on the main floor of her room, and Fleur bolted out of his hiding space and jumped onto Marinette’s chest. “Down boy, I’m okay, I’m okay.” She reassured the dog with several scratches behind his ear. She was still in shock that she managed to pull that all off without needing her eyesight. 

“I told you that you could do it Marinette!”

“I did it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I skipped out on some Ivan/Ladybug and Ladybug/Alya conversation but there really wasn't going to be much change so I didn't want to take the time to write it out. I also cut out some of the events with the whole "Cataclysm the first time" section, but once again that's a section you guys can just go watch since it really wouldn't deviate much here.


	5. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets some time to reflect on what just happened to her and the results of her actions come to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update schedule? What's that? Is it like a sleep schedule, non-existent? I figured that you guys deserve a more interesting update after the last one. Especially since we get to see what makes this AU different than the popular Blind!Adrien and some other versions of Blind!Marinette. A big thing to note that you guys need to understand before going into this chapter, some character's personalities will be different as a result of Marinette being blind. With all of that said and done, enjoy!

“Marinette! Dinner time!” Her mom called out to her as she was relaxing after her first Akuma attack. She was still full of energy at the fact that she was just able to defeat Stoneheart without needing her vision. There was almost nothing that could kill her mood right now, not even Chloe. She knew that Tikki was munching on a cookie on her desk, and she shut the book she was reading. Fleur noticed that she was moving around and stood up, the duo went downstairs, and the smell of her mom’s home cooking filled her nose. She did not realize until now just how hungry she was. Fighting evil really did take a lot out of her.

“Thanks, mom.” Marinette greeted her parents, calming her excited nerves down as she remembered that her parents did not know about her accomplishment. The news was talking about her accomplishment, and she could not help but feel proud of herself. She was able to do something; she was able to help people all by herself… well with the assistance of Tikki. Yet, this was still done by her own two hands. Tikki just gave her the ability to take action. She took her seat at the table and waited for the sound of her parents sitting down before she started to eat her food.

“Ladybug is blind.” Tom pointed out as Marinette nearly choked on air. She told Chat Noir that the coloration of her eyes was an effect of the suit. She should have known that her parents would be able to figure that out without even blinking. They raised her after all, and she’s been blind since birth. Tikki really did not explain how differently she looked as Ladybug compared to Marinette and she feared that her secret was going to be revealed to her parents on the first day. 

“I’m not too sure honey. It could be an effect of her costume, just look at Chat Noir’s eyes. There is no way that’s normal.” Sabrine spoke up taking a seat next to Marinette, and the blind girl could not help but let the breath she was holding go. She mentally thanked her mom for that save, she wanted to speak up but she could not. She should not know what kind of stunts that Ladybug pulled today, and she would not know if she did not do them herself. She was starting to realize just how hard keeping her secret identity was going to be. Today she was lucky, the Akuma appeared after she was home so getting Fleur someplace safe to hide was easy. Next time she might not be as fortunate, and if Ladybug is seen with Fleur, then that might start drawing unwanted lines between her and Ladybug. 

After dinner, she was going to need to talk to Tikki about what to do about Fleur during Akuma attacks. Leaving him at home was completely out of the question. She would not let him stay stuck inside the house all day, as well as the main reason she got him, was so that way Chloe would not be able to take him from her. She had enough of the spoiled girl stealing her walking stick during breaks to last her a lifetime. “You are probably right; regardless she did a fantastic job taking that monster out.”

With everyone seated at the table, the conversation continued, and Marinette found it hard to stay neutral about the discussion. The only information about Ladybug was the footage that Alya caught of the fight, and she knew that showing too much interest was a bad idea. So she had to keep the balance between her interest in the spotted heroine and the fact that she could not see what she did. Her parents took lots of time trying to explain Ladybug’s appearance to her. Going as far as her dad going up and tracing some of the lines of her costume on Marinette’s body so she could get an understanding of what she looked like. It was kind of amusing to her to find out how she looks to others by her dad explaining it to her.

Outside of that dinner went by fairly quickly, and once she was done, Marinette got up and started to do the dishes. She zoned out rather soon as she found herself lost within her own world within her mind. At least, until she heard her mom gasp in surprise. That drew her back into the world of reality as she listened to the news again. It was talking about innocent people being turned into stone beings. That did not make sense to Marinette. She defeated Stoneheart and broke the object that the Akuma was hiding in. She had to get upstairs and talk to Tikki to figure out what was going on. She finished the dish she was washing and grabbed a paper towel, drying her hands as she ran up the stairs. Her anxiety was growing at the idea that she did something wrong, that she messed up somehow. 

When she got upstairs, she heard Tikki flying towards her and felt the little kwami landing on her shoulder. “Did you capture the Akuma?” Tikki asked once the trap door was shut. Marinette tried to remember, she destroyed the object the Akuma was in. That much she was sure, but she could not remember if she captured the Akuma. Even if she did not, Marinette could not see what capturing the Akuma had to do with the stone beings. Tikki could see the confusion on her chosen’s face and sighed. The little kwami knew that this was a very common mistake every new bug she had made. It was so easy to get wrapped up in everything that was going on that they would forget the most important part of the job. “Akuma can multiply if they are not captured by my chosen. If Ivan’s emotions become negative again, then the Akuma will turn him back into Stoneheart and all of those stone beings will come to life and serve as his army.”

Those words hit Marinette like a stone, all of those innocent people turned into monsters was all her fault. She covered her face in shame, Tikki told her that she had three things that needed to be done before she transformed for the first time. Destroy the object the Akuma was hiding in, capturing the Akuma with her yo-yo, then purifying the Akuma with her powers. She failed the second and third step and now Paris was stuck in this state. The earrings that she had issues putting in now felt like they weighed several tons. “I told you Tikki! You should have picked someone else! I’m blind and look where that got everyone! Maybe if someone who could see had your Miraculous, then this situation would not have happened. You should pick someone else Tikki.” Marinette explained as she started to pace back and forth in her room. She debated on taking out the earrings and putting them back in the box and forgetting about being Ladybug. Before she could think any further on the idea, she felt Tikki fly off of her shoulder and grabbed onto her face. “What good is a superhero that is trapped inside her own house most of the time?”

Tikki was determined to help Marinette through this, it was rare that she got pulled to her chosen while still in the box. She was not going to lose Marinette over a simple mistake that can be fixed. Typically Tikki felt like she was better as a guide, nudging her chosen on the right path and let them find and figure things out on their own. With Marinette, Tikki felt like that was probably the worst possible idea that she could have. Her paws were not very big compared to Marinette, but they did what she needed them to do. Marinette stopped walking around, and Tikki had her full attention. “You are not my first disabled bug, and you are not the first one to make a mistake on their first try. You are going to go back and capture Stoneheart’s Akuma successfully!” 

“Tikki your feeling is wrong! How do you expect me to save Paris when all I know is darkness?” Marinette cried back, she hated bringing her disability up like this, but she did not know any other way to explain to Tikki why she was the wrong person for the job. A part of her wanted to continue doing this, just out of pure selfishness at the ability to start to see the world. That part of her was outweighed by the guilt of the current situation that Paris was in. She was expecting Tikki to pull away and take the Miraculous with her by this point.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You will listen here. I am over five thousand years old. I have had countless bugs before you, and I know that humans make mistakes. It’s those who mess up and get back up who are my best ones. So are you going to go let whoever turned those innocent people into those stone beings win or are you going to do something about it? Even if I chose a new person to be Ladybug they would not do it as well as you can. There was a reason that I was drawn to you for a reason, believe it or not. You might not see your real potential, but I can. No matter what anyone else says I have faith in you Marinette that you can do the right thing.” Tikki explained, knowing that there were several things that she said that she typically left for her chosen to find out on their own. It felt like it was an appropriate time to reveal to Marinette that she was not the first person to mess up like this. She was not going back into that box without a fight. 

Marinette was speechless at Tikki’s little outburst, that was a huge information drop. She was not the first Ladybug, she was not the first disabled Ladybug, and most importantly she was not the first Ladybug to screw up like she did today. What also surprised the fifteen-year-old was that Tikki revealed how old she was and that even after everything that happened she still believed in her. The idea of giving up her Miraculous crossed her mind again, yet this time, it did not sound as appealing as it did before Tikki went on her rant. Marinette gently got Tikki from off of her face and place the little kwami back on her shoulder as she went over to her dresser. She needed to get changed and ready for bed. She needed to think about this, all of this that happened. “I still don’t know Tikki if I’m cut out for this. It’s been a long day, and I still have school tomorrow.”

She explained a sigh escaping her lips, as she got a few tee shirts and a box from her room and made a makeshift bed for Tikki in it after she got changed into her pajamas. She climbed up the ladder into her bed and put the box on one side of the bed for Tikki to fly into when the little kwami was ready for bed. Marinette usually stayed up a bit longer than this, but she just wanted this day to be over. “Goodnight Fleur and Tikki.” She called out to the duo before climbing under the covers and quickly fell asleep.   
Tikki floated above her chosen and noticed the little bed that Marinette made her, then back to Marinette. She wanted to sleep with her chosen, like she did every single one before Marinette. Yet she flew over to the bed and plopped down in the box. She was not going to rush Marinette into anything that she did not want to do. “Goodnight petit coccinelle. Tomorrow will be better I promise.” She spoke softly to the blind girl before falling asleep herself. 

The next day came and Marinette really did not feel too much better, sleep did not come easy to her as all she could think of were those innocent people transformed into those stone beings. Her alarm went off for her morning run before school, except she lacked the motivation to do it this morning. Given the fact that cross country tryouts were less than two weeks away, she really should be running. Yesterday’s events just had her completely drained. It was pointless to go back to sleep at this point so she slid out of bed and just headed downstairs to see if there was anything she could do in the bakery since she was already up. 

Since she was going to be in the back of the store she just pulled her hair back into a low ponytail to get it out of the way. “Good morning mom and dad. Do you need any help?” She asked once she got into the back part of the bakery. She knew that both of her parents would already be up since the bakery would be opening in about an hour and a half. She could already smell the ovens hard at work preparing for the morning rush of customers. 

“Not going for a run? Then can you knead some dough? It’s in your usual spot” Her father asked as there was a loud thunk of what she assumed was dough in her workspace. Marinette nodded in agreement and washed her hands quickly before getting her apron on and started to get to work. Before she was running with Fleur on a daily basis she would get up early to help in the bakery. It was a lot of work for just two people to do so she enjoyed helping out as much as she could in the back. There really was no point for her to be up front since there were too many people and the idea was just screaming for disaster to happen. So she was content to doing the baking part, as she had most of the recipes memorized by now. The only time she needed help was when the recipe needed some form of liquid. 

“Of course papa. I’m just not feeling it this morning, besides I went the last few days so a day off would not hurt.” She replied using the dough to vent some of her excess emotions out. This was one of the perks of being a baker’s daughter, she always had good ways of dealing with excess anger in a productive way. As she was working a big hand was placed on her shoulder, causing her to pause and glance up at her father.

“I know you are scared Marinette, but we have two superheroes watching over us now. You know the best way to help them? It is to show them that we are not scared and that we believe in them.” Marinette could not believe how much of an open book she was sometimes. Her dad knew exactly what was bothering her without the topic even being brought up in the first place. 

Marinette’s eyes drifted back to where her hands were, and they shut. She could not understand why her parents were so supportive of Ladybug when they did not even know her alter ego. She screwed up so badly yesterday and here her dad was trying to calm her down by telling her that he believes in the heroic duo. She wanted to tell him that his faith in Chat Noir was valid, but Ladybug does not deserve that kind of blind faith. “What if she fails again?” The big question that was weighing her down slipped out as her mood was reflective of her overall uncertainty of the entire situation. 

Tom moved his hands from his daughter’s shoulders to on top of her hands as he guided her hands in kneading the bread. Just like when she was younger a smile was on his face as he’s seen just how much his little girl has grown up. “Then I’ll come in and save the day. Super Baker to the rescue!” He exclaimed, continuing to work the dough with Marinette in doing so. There was a chuckle coming from his daughter's mouth that signaled that he did his job in reassuring her. 

“Thanks, super dad. I got it from here.” She continued to giggle, taking over from her father. She did not know if he knew how much that little talk of his brightened up her mood. Maybe Tikki was right, maybe she could do this. People were putting blind faith in her alter ego even after that massive blunder she had. No one was calling her out on her failure, rather pointing out the faith that they had in her. The hour she had set aside for her run passed quickly and before she knew it, her second phone alarm went off. Telling her it was time to get ready for school, she finished what she was doing and headed upstairs. Her dad was always could figure out where she stopped in prep. Opening the trap door to her room, she thought about waking Tikki up, to let the kwami know that she’s been thinking about it and how she was going to try again.

First things first, she needed to take a shower. She was not going to school partially covered in flour, nor would her mom let her out of the house partially covered in flour. She went to her bathroom and turned the water on before returning back upstairs and rummaging through her drawers to find what she wanted to wear for the day. She picked her outfits by texture, and her mom would double check that she was not wearing something outrageous or clashing. With her clothes picked out for the day, she walked back downstairs and got into the shower.

The warm water felt refreshing against her skin, it felt as if all of her worries were just melting off of her. Between the Jagged Stone music playing and the warm water, Marinette’s mood improved significantly over what she woke up to. With her hair washed and the flour off of her skin, she got out and dried herself then got dressed in the bathroom. The downside of getting dressed in the bathroom was that her pant legs usually got a bit wet, and her jeans were always a pain to put on when her legs were wet. The alternative was to walk upstairs in just a towel and after slipping on the stairs once she was never going to risk that again. With a bit of effort and jumping up and down, Marinette was fully dressed and all that was left was to grab something to eat, feed Fleur and walk to school. 

She also needed to talk to Tikki about still being Ladybug, even with all of the positive comment she’s gotten from the kwami and her parents… she still wanted to pass it onto Alya. She could cover for the other in safety while she was the one jumping from roof to roof, protecting Paris. Gathering the flour covered clothes she made one last trip upstairs to grab her backpack and drop off the dirty clothes. Once she was upstairs, she deposited the clothes into her basket and picked her to backpack up. Walking over to one of her drawers, Marinette picked up the box that the Miraculous and Tikki came inside. She stared at the box and ran her fingers over the top one last time, trying to create an image from the inscriptions on the top. “Tikki. I’ve made up my mind.” She whispered knowing that her mom was downstairs, and she did not want to alert her mom to anything being wrong.

Tikki was hiding in the box while Marinette was doing what she needed to do. As long as her blind chosen stayed within the house, she really did not need to be with her. They were close enough that if something happened there would not be a massive delay in meeting up. When her chosen called for her, Tikki flew out of the box she slept in and sat on top of Marinette’s head. Normally she was not this touchy with her chosen, with Marinette it felt right. It could be because, without sight, people favor close contact. “What is it Marinette?” She asked hopeful that Marinette thought about what she said last night and would continue to be Ladybug. 

“I’m giving you and the Miraculous to Alya at lunch. I’m sorry Tikki, but I cannot let people get hurt like this again because of my mistakes. Being blind is just too much of a handicap in a fight.” She explained to the kwami, knowing that this was not a rash decision on her part. But one that she spent a fair amount of time thinking about, and she felt, in the end, this was the best decision that she could make. “I’ll take the Miraculous off when I’m with Alya so I won’t misplace it.” She explained to Tikki not wanting to risk losing something so valuable all because she cannot see what she’s doing. “Hide, I’m going downstairs to get some breakfast and then go to school,” Marinette asked as she felt Tikki dive under the jacket she was wearing. It just occurred to her how in all of their time together, most of the time Tikki was touching her in some way. She felt more relaxed in a strange way when Tikki was touching her in some way. She shrugged the idea off, then grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs shutting the trapdoor behind her. 

She just had a simple breakfast as her mom tended to her hair. It was a freshly baked croissant with some butter, she knew it was by far not the best breakfast she could have. Except, when it came to her dad’s croissants she could afford not to care as she savored every single bite. “Can you just leave it down today mom?” She asked in-between bites, remembering how her dad described Ladybug having two pigtails with red ribbons sticking out. She already knew that the eye color of Ladybug drew attention and according to Tikki the mask did not change the hue of her eyes one bit. Meaning that the fewer connections that could possibly be made connecting her to the spotted heroine the better.

“Okay then, you are ready to go. Have a good day at school.” Sabrine kissed Marinette on the cheek once she was done brushing her daughter’s hair. With that done, Marinette grabbed her backpack and slipped it on and grabbed Fleur’s harness. She ran through her mental checklist to make sure she did not forget to do anything.

“Love you! I’ll tonight.” She replied and left for school, the thoughts of those stone monsters coming back to the forefront of her mind. Leaving her with a sense of uneasiness and dread.


End file.
